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Resource enhancement and sustainable aquaculture practices in Southeast Asia: challenges in responsible production of aquatic species : proceedings of the international workshop on resource enhancement and sustainable aquaculture practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA)

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Abstract

The conference was held in order to promote and augment regional initiatives on resource enhancement and sustainable aquaculture practices, and to contribute to poverty alleviation, livelihood and food security in Southeast Asia. The contributions of the selected participants during the conference which are contained in this volume are cited individually.

Subject

Type

Book; Conference publication

ISBN

9789719931041

Format

xviii, 371 pages : color illustrations, color maps.

Acknowledgment/Sponsorship

The Government of Japan through the Trust Fund Programs of the SEAFDEC Secretariat provided financial support for the conduct of the International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture practices in Southeast Asia in March 2014 in Iloilo, Philippines, as well as, the publication of this proceedings. The editors also acknowledge the efforts of the Publication Review Committee of SEAFDEC/AQD especially Dr. Relicardo M. Coloso, Dr. Maria Lourdes Cuvin-Aralar, Dr. Evelyn Grace de Jesus Ayson, Dr. Rolando Pakingking and Dr. Myrna B. Teruel for reviewing the draft of the proceedings prior to its publication. Thanks are also due Ms. Imee S. Hacla for the copy-editing and layout.

Capture fisheries in Southeast Asia are characterized by rampant overfishing, made worse in many areas by problems of overpopulation and by inappropriate management strategies based on misconceptions about tropical fisheries. Mollusk culture and seaweed culture are frequently cited as means to alleviate fishing pressure and to provide substitute protein. There is great potential for expansion of these types of mariculture in terms of area used, species employed, and products generated. However, large-scale mariculture rarely provides significant employment, and the provision of low-cost protein in markets does not alleviate poverty in countries where food production is the primary means of employment. In cases where conflicts have arisen between mariculture development and ecosystem maintenance, mariculture has been favored by inappropriate economic valuations. Small-scale mariculture designed to provide alternative livelihood for fishers is worth developing, although limited by larval supplies and suitable farming areas. Mariculture should be approached as a species-diverse, small-scale enterprise within the framework of integrated coastal management.

The world demand for river eels has been increasing mainly because of the market expansion of some delicacies such as the kabayaki (broiled eel with sweet soy sauce) in East Asia. While most of the world’s eel production is derived from aquaculture, it should be noted that eel aquaculture is still dependent on the natural resources. As techniques for the full-life cycle aquaculture of eels have not yet been fully developed for commercial use, the eel aquaculture industry is still solely dependent on wild resources for seed stocks. However, the natural resources had been confronted with various factors that could possibly create negative impacts on the eel resources including habitat alteration, overexploitation, climate change, pollution, and incidence of diseases. Thus, concerns on the sustainability of various eel species in the world have increased in recent years. It should be reckoned that the European and American eels are already threatened to certain degree by pollution and damming (or the construction of dams that prevent their migration to freshwater bodies) leading to almost “close to collapse” of the European eel resources. This situation prompted CITES to list the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in CITES Appendix II in 2009 and accordingly, trade restrictions of the European eel and its products came into effect. In Southeast Asia, it is known that aquaculture and inland capture fisheries of eel are practiced but data and information on the total production of eel in the region remain very minimal. In this regard, the Southeast Asian countries have been encouraged to report their respective eel production to SEAFDEC in order that the status and trend of the region’s eel resources could be established and the statistics could be appropriately reflected in the Fishery Statistical Bulletin of Southeast Asia produced yearly by SEAFDEC. Meanwhile, in an effort to conserve the eel resources in Southeast Asia, SEAFDEC recently launched a project on Conservation, Management and Sustainable Utilization of Eel Resources in Southeast Asia with funding support from the Trust Fund for SEAFDEC of the Fisheries Agency of Japan.

Countries in Southeast Asia still display a vivid spectrum of developmental stages in aquaculture, the most and the least developed seen in contiguous areas despite geographic similarities. The Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific is actively involved in the development of aquaculture in the region, approaching it from a holistic viewpoint by integrating issues in environment, resource management, and socioeconomics into its program of work. Constraints related to site, inputs, and markets have assumed more importance in many countries, but transfer of technology is still the problem in about half the region. More intense culture systems, especially shrimp pond and fish cages, have resulted in serious problems of self-pollution, which affects the industry's own sustainability. A recent FAO-NACA regional study indicated that non-aquaculture sectors such as industries, agriculture, urbanization, and tourism have serious impacts on aquaculture, but there is little evidence that aquaculture is seriously affecting non-aquaculture sectors. Sustainability of aquaculture has to be considered along with economic and environmental sustainability. It appears from examples in the region that aquaculture that seriously damages the environment is economically unsustainable. Various constraints that impinge on the sustainability of aquaculture in the region are discussed.